Penguin Random House Limited
Registered name: PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE LIMITED
Part of Bertelsmann UK Limited groupPenguin Random House Limited made £45.5m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025 (revenue not disclosed).
Penguin Random House Limited reported £45.5m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025, down 36% on the year before; its revenue was not disclosed. It had 0 employees. The company is classified under “book publishing” and is based in London; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 64 yrs · since 1962
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Pass-through vehicle. This looks like a holding, staffing or umbrella company. Its revenue and profit may largely pass through to or from other entities, so the figures may not reflect a standalone operating business. It is excluded from our opportunity lists.
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently.
Key figures
This company published its profit but not its turnover, so revenue and margins are not disclosed. We never estimate them.
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 Dec 2022 | 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Profit only | Profit only | Profit only | Profit only |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | — | — | — | — |
| Operating profit | −£28.6k | −£172k | −£229k | −£1.7m |
| Profit before tax | £54.1m | £120m | £70.5m | £44.2m |
| Profit after tax | £55.3m | £120m | £71.4m | £45.5m |
| Profit (best available) | £55.3m | £120m | £71.4m | £45.5m |
| Employees (average) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | — | — | — | — |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Profit growth | — | ▲117.2% | ▼40.5% | ▼36.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Net assets | £465m | £485m | £436m | £412m |
| Fixed assets | £481m | £493m | £501m | £538m |
| Current assets | £186m | £1.1m | £250k | £84.5m |
| Debtors | £186m | £1.1m | £250k | £84.5m |
| Deferred income | £41.3k | £51k | £52.9k | £54.1k |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- —
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- —
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- —
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- —
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- —
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▼6%
- Now £412m
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- —
- Now 0
- Deferred income
- ▲2%
- Now £54.1k
- Fixed assets
- ▲7%
- Now £538m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Bertelsmann UK Limitedultimate parent75–100%
- Penguin Random House Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (19)
- Penguin Books LimitedRev. £280m · Profit £50.8m
- The Random House Group LimitedRev. £275m · Profit £19.4m
- Dorling Kindersley LimitedRev. £116m · Profit −£8.7m
- Little Tiger Press LimitedRev. £31.5m · Profit £1.9m
- Hay House UK LimitedRev. £15.6m · Profit £2m
- PRH International Services LimitedRev. £4.3m · Profit £155k
- Caterpillar Books LtdFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 0 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 1 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 2 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 3 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 4 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 5 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 6 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 7 LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Flaname 8 LimitedRev. — · Profit −£63.4k
- Hugo's Language Books LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Stripes Publishing LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Yeti Bidco LimitedRev. — · Profit −£1.5m
Sister companies (5)
- Arvato SCM UK LimitedRev. £97.7m · Profit −£735k
- Prinovis UK LimitedRev. £14.8m · Profit −£131k
- Bertelsmann Global Business Services LimitedRev. £5.2m · Profit −£56k
- Riverty UK LimitedRev. £311k · Profit £12.1k
- Arvato LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £45.5m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.